Haldan's voice was not loud, and there was even a strange bitterness and paleness, but when Bilow on the other side heard it in his ears, it was like lightning and thunder, and gold and iron clashed.

In contrast to the later histories compiled by English-speaking scholars and widely accepted by non-English-speaking elites, the Second German Empire, which rose up in Central Europe, and its handicapped but young Kaiser Wilhelm, never had the slightest intention of conquering the world. Whether it is Germany's "world policy" or the Kaiser's "acquisition of land under the sun", its essence is that a new imperialist country will export its trade and will to the whole world, and enrich and strengthen itself through overseas trade and colonial plunder—this is not fundamentally different from what Britain did in the 17th and 19th centuries as the so-called "spokesman for glorious justice" in the historical records with a distinct face! At the end of the 19th century, Germany, which felt that its development had been deeply feared by the other side of the Strait, was the only strategic focus of its alliance with Britain; Tirpitz's Grand Naval Plan was the only way to talk to the British, an old bandit with blood on his hands and the law of the jungle.

When he heard that Haldane made a promise to personally open the door to Europe for Germany, Rao Shibilow's mind was firm, and he couldn't help but lose his mind for a short time. However, after all, he has been the prime minister for nearly 7 years, and he has already seen a lot of battles; After savoring it, he discovered the pitfalls and flaws in Haldan's seemingly beautiful promise.

First of all, the scope of Britain's commitment to neutrality and non-cooperation in the European war only applies to the case where France takes the initiative to attack Germany. This means that if Germany takes the lead in raising the butcher's knife against France. Then Germany would be equally at risk of war with Great Britain. However, the current situation is that morality is strong and law is weak. France is much lower than Germany in terms of both population and average national income; In this case. It is clear that Germany has a much stronger incentive to wage war than France. The fanatical nationalist Prussian officer corps dreamed of once again stepping on the Teutonian boots on the bustling Champs-Élysées and recreating the glory of capturing Emperor Napoleon III during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870.

If Germany had signed such an agreement with Great Britain, it would have greatly limited the options that Germany could have in the French question. This was because Britain's neutral position in the European war was only applicable to the case of Germany being attacked by France on its own initiative: this meant that in the event of a violent dispute between Germany and France, which was difficult to resolve, Germany would hardly use preemptive force to settle its problems with France in order to ensure that Britain, a great weight, did not join the French side in the fight. Even an indirect threat of war and forced concessions on France were ineffective for Germany. Because the French also know that the Germans will hardly take great risks and take the initiative to draw their swords against themselves! Behind this seemingly illogical situation, it is not difficult to understand: when Britain did not sign a neutrality pact with Germany, given that Britain and France already had an alliance agreement in advance, Germany was completely barefoot and not afraid to wear shoes. And once Britain has this "diplomatic property" of neutrality, Germany will inevitably protect it like a beggar who has picked up a wallet, lest this hard-won agreement will be wiped out because of its own recklessness, and let itself return to the previous situation of fighting against the whole world on its own. It is important to know that the decision-makers of the German government did not want a war with Britain from the beginning!

In addition to this, there is a trap in the temptation that Haldane throws. That was to make the German Navy accept the number of British and German capital ships with a ratio of 2 to 1. It is obvious that Haldane is blackmailing Billo with the attitude of the British: You want to form an alliance with me, right? Do you want to be able to use the sea as freely as you would in peacetime to use the coastline without being blocked in war? Then abandon the fleet! You don't give up the fleet. I will not form a non-aggression alliance with you, and as for whether your fleet is an enemy of me, it has nothing to do with me!

Thus, on the surface, Haldane's proposal was a compromise that the British Empire had to make to Germany when it was unable to prevent its rise, but in fact it was a sinister motive of extreme cunning. If Billo had accepted Haldane's proposal in its entirety, the British would have woken up laughing from their dreams.

In the current situation, as long as the French authorities have not been kicked in the head by a donkey, it will be impossible to launch a war of revenge against the German-Austrian alliance, which is much stronger than them. Britain's promise to remain neutral after the French attack on Germany was effectively a dead letter. And if Germany cherishes the diplomatic results of Britain's commitment to neutrality and does not choose to attack France on its own initiative, it will surely return the European continent, which has become unbalanced by the great weakening of Russia in the Far East, to a state of relative equilibrium – which is exactly what Britain, which advocates continental balance, dreams of! In this way, Britain will not only avoid the situation of Napoleon's domination of Europe 100 years ago, but will also allow them to continue to play the pivotal role of the "offshore balancer" in European affairs that had been preceded for centuries. As long as Russia recovers from its defeat in the Far East and regains its grip on Germany in the east, everything will be easy on land.

In addition, the United Kingdom, which has reached an agreement with Germany, will also gain a relatively stable maritime structure. The German fleet, reduced to half the size of the British, would be a nuisance to the Royal Navy and far from a threat. If the dreadnought race is carried out normally, Britain will not only be unable to form an absolute advantage of 2 to 1 over the German navy, but it will also be a long-term and arduous task to catch up with the number of capital ships of both sides to 4 to 3, not to mention that the British finances will suffer a huge pressure deficit during this period. More importantly, if Germany gave up its fleet that could threaten Britain, it would lose its qualification to engage in dialogue with Britain at the same height; At that time, it is still unknown whether Britain will tolerate a country with only half the number of capital ships in its navy, but whose economy and industry are far superior to its own, and which are all competing with itself extensively for overseas markets within the world's borders. Once Britain made the decision to eradicate Germany, the disparity in naval strength between Britain and Germany, which had become so disparity due to the treaty of reconciliation, would undoubtedly greatly reduce the risks and pressures that Britain would have to bear in waging war.

In other words, Britain paid only a paper neutrality treaty on paper, but in exchange for the rebalancing of the situation in Europe and the reconsolidation of maritime superiority, this neutrality treaty can be torn up at any time after the change of strength of both sides! And Germany, which signed this treaty, will lose its wife and soldiers, and all the achievements of its previous decades of struggle to break the blockade of the world will be in vain!

This kind of strategic game of crossing the river, demolishing the bridge, and going to the house to draw the ladder is exactly the main theme played in the symphony of great power diplomacy in this era!

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Looking at the British War Secretary with a sad and bitter look in front of him, like an old and weak beggar who was forced to hand over most of his begging earnings to gangsters, Billlow couldn't help but shudder in his heart. If it weren't for Qing Ying's repeated emphasis on the British bandit leader who only recognizes his fists and can only use the sword in his hand to obtain the conditions for equal dialogue with them, he would have almost been deceived by the natural and exquisite acting skills of the person in front of him!

"I am grateful to you, Mr. Sir, for your country's efforts to maintain peace. However, the obligations of our Germany in this regard are also excessive. Billo smiled slightly, and the slightly fat and kind face was reflected in Haldane's eyes, but it was like the most greedy demon in the abyss of hell, "At present, the ratio of the number of all-heavy artillery battleships owned by your country and our Germany is 10 to 12, and the number of all-heavy artillery cruisers is 5 to 5, even if your country's annual shipbuilding speed is slightly higher than that of our Germany, it is really difficult for us to limit the number of capital ships of your navy to less than half of your country." If I had accepted this treaty, not only His Majesty the Kaiser, but also the 60 million German people, would not have agreed. ”

Sure enough, the Germans refused to obediently give up their hard-won vested superiority at sea! Haldane chuckled in his heart, and a hint of foreboding quietly spread in his heart, but he refused to budge: "If your country refuses to limit the size of its navy, it is undoubtedly a manifestation of insincerity in maintaining peace in Europe, and then I can only regret to withdraw the promise I made on behalf of the British Empire." Mr. Prime Minister, I don't understand, the door to peace and prosperity is just around the corner, why should your country turn a blind eye to it? ”

"Sir Sir, in the present world, if you want to avoid war, you must have an army capable of fighting it. No peace can be guaranteed by superficial promises, and peace can be guaranteed forever only if the costs of war far outweigh its benefits. If the price of peace is to put oneself in a situation where danger may be at the moment of danger, then I in Germany would rather not have such a short and fragile peace. Billo said with an awe-inspiring face.

"Well, Mr. Prime Minister, what is the ratio of the number of Anglo-German capital ships that your country can bear?" Haldane asked.

Birlo said slowly: "10 to 9." This is already the maximum concession that we, who currently have a numerical advantage, have made after taking into account the feelings of your country. (To be continued......)

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